Dana Gaier

Despicable Me 3 Review

Very Good

Actually the fourth film in the series (don't forget the prequel Minions), this animated super-villain comedy continues the wildly hyperactive antics of Gru and his yellow sidekicks, blending hilarious references with crazed action to keep the audience laughing. It's so jam-packed with gags that the movie leaves the audience feeling a little bewildered along the way, since we never get a chance to lock into either the story or characters before we're off for another manic set-piece. But it's a lot of fun.

We catch up with Gru (Steve Carell) and his wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig) as they've just been outfoxed by arch-nemesis Bratt (Trey Parker), a former 1980s child TV star gone very, very bad. Sacked by the Anti-Villain League, Gru and Lucy are unsure how they're going to support their three adopted daughters (Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Nev Scharrel). Then they discover that Gru has a twin brother he never knew about. So they head to a remote island nation, where they meet Dru (also Carell), who lives in splendour on his epic pig farm. But Dru dreams of being a villain like their late father, so he convinces Gru to offer him some training. And, pretending that it's a heist, Gru takes Dru along on a mission to capture Bratt.

Every scene is a riot of jokes, mainly poking fun at 1980s movies, music, TV shows and fashion. Bratt is hilariously annoying, with his awful moustache and mullet, and a lair that recreates the set from Olivia Newton John's Physical video. But these witty touches fly at the screen so quickly that they only just register before there are another five gags upon us. The frantic pacing is enjoyable even if it's rather exhausting, mainly because the characters are so endearing. Carell and Wiig once again bring their impeccable timing to their roles, mixing comedy with some surprisingly sweet emotion in their parallel storylines: Gru as he learns to be a brother and Lucy as she yearns to be seen as a mom to the girls, two of whom have little subplots of their own.

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Despicable Me 3 Trailer

Gru, the Minions and his wonderful girls will return to the cinema this June when the third instalment of the movie is released. Though his personal life is at a peak, Gru's professional life is going through some issues. When he lets the devious troublemaker Balthazar Bratt get away with the theft of a precious jewel, Gru comes under fire from his bosses and ends up getting fired. Now at a low point, Gru turn to his wife, Lucy, and the girls for support but they're unable to solve Gru's problems.

When the former bady finds out that he has a twin brother, the pair are reunited and it appears his brother Dru has everything Gru hasn't. He has wealth, luscious blonde locks, pigs, a huge island home and a devious villain layer underneath his mansion which Dru uses to lure Gru back into a life of crime - unbeknownst to Lucy and the girls.

As Gru starts to remember his bad boy youth, the temptation to become the best supervillain once again becomes too much for Gru to refuse. Will Gru be able to once again prove to his brother that he's capable of topping the ranks in the supervillain world and outwitting his latest nemesis, former child star Balthazar Bratt - and if he does, will he risk losing his real family who've stuck by him in the past?

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Despicable Me 3 Trailer

It's been some time since Gru embarked on a villainous plot to take over the world; now that his adopted daughters Margo, Edith and Agnes are growing up and he's married to Anti-Villain League agent Lucy Wilde, he's more about being a family man than being a baddie. Of course, that also means that not a lot of money is coming in and so he needs to find financial help soon. Agnes does her best to raise funds with a garage sale and waves goodbye to her beloved unicorn, but ultimately it's the arrival of Gru's wealthier and blonder long-lost brother Dru who provides a light at the end of the tunnel. With his money, they manage to formulate a plan together to take down a criminal diamond thief named Balthazar Bratt - who happens to not be hard to find given that he's a flamboyant former 80s movie star. Meanwhile, the Minions are growing angry that their master no longer wants to pursue evil deeds.

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Despicable Me 3 Trailer

Gru (Steve Carell) has renounced his nefarious ways for good now that he's happily married to Anti-Villain League agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), but he's still very active when it comes to taking down the other criminals of the age. One such criminal is the disco-dancing, shoulder-pad loving Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker); a diamond thief who is also a former child star still obsessed with his famous film role from the 80s. But that's not the only adversary Gru must face on his next adventure. His long lost twin Dru returns and tensions are high between these siblings. The Minions are back, obviously - not that Gru needs minions when evil misdeeds aren't the order of the day - and Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Nev Scharrel) are a little older and wiser but just as adorable.

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Dana Gaier - Peoples Choice Awards 2014 Arrivals held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, 777 Chick Hearn Ct., Los Angeles, CA. - Los Angeles, California, United States - Wednesday 8th January 2014

Dana Gaier - The 40th Annual Peoples Choice Awards at Nokia LA Live - Los Angeles, California, United States - Wednesday 8th January 2014

Despicable Me 2 Review

By Rich Cline

Very Good

With the same teams of writers and directors, this sequel sticks closely to the winning formula of the 2010 original: pile on so much snappy humour and colourful wackiness that no one will worry about the plot. So the film is sweetly engaging and relentlessly hilarious, but there's nothing particularly inventive or memorable about it.

After discovering his less villainous side, Gru (Carell) is now trying to go legit with his sidekick Dr Nefario (Brand) and their horde of mischievous yellow minions. Gru is also enjoying the challenges of being a father to his lively adopted daughters Margo, Agnes and Edith (Cosgrove, Fisher and Gaier). Then he meets the undercover spy Lucy (Wiig) and her boss Silas (Coogan), who ask for his help hunting down the bad guy who stole a secret government chemical. Gru reluctantly takes the job, and his suspicion falls on Eduardo (Bratt), not because he looks just like former fellow villain El Macho, but because Margo is in love with his surly teen son (Arias).

As before, the film mixes cute family sentimentality with wacky cartoon slapstick in which everyone gets smashed, pounded and blown up but emerges unscathed to face the next bit of outrageous mayhem. The violent undercurrents are sometimes a little disturbing, especially when children are talking about murder, but the movie's wildly ridiculous tone constantly reminds us to stop taking anything seriously. Thankfully, we're constantly distracted by the whizzy, action-packed animation, which makes especially witty use of the 3D.

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Despicable Me 2 - Clips

Former evil-doer Gru, who once attempted the career-defining heist of stealing the moon, has seemingly left a life of evil deeds and landed himself a new kind of job. Albeit fairly reluctantly and without actually having a choice, he has been enlisted by Silas Ramsbottom of the Anti-Villain League on a world-rescue mission as a new villain arrives in town, to the delight and pride of his young adopted daughters Agnes, Edith and Margo. He and Agent Lucy Wilde must now embark on a new kind of adventure with the help of Gru's faithful, blabbering Minions. But with interfering neighbours coupled with his girls becoming older and smarter, saving the world from a ruthless rogue seems the least of his worries.

'Despicable Me 2' is the wonderful follow-up to the Golden Globe nominated 2010 animated comedy 'Despicable Me'. It has been produced by the geniuses behind 'Ice Age' and 'Shark Tale' comes 'Despicable Me 2' and sees the thrilling return of directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud ('The Lorax') with screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio ('The Santa Clause 2', 'Horton Hears a Who!', 'Hop'). Already with an award nomination under its belt (from the Golden Trailer Awards), this adorable flick will be released on June 28th 2013.

Watch the Despicable me trailer here!

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The Minions Are Back! 'Despicable Me 2' Full Trailer Finally Arrives (Trailer And Pictures)

By Holly Williams in Movies / TV / Theatre on 21 March 2013

Steve Carell Elsie Fisher Dana Gaier Miranda Cosgrove Kristen Wiig Steve Coogan Pierre Coffin Cinco Paul Ken Daurio

The full trailer for 'Despicable Me 2' has finally arrived with plenty of laughs to go around.

Gru And The Girls

The Despicable Me 2 trailer is finally here seeing the return of your favourite Despicable Me characters including former supervillain Gru, his beloved foster children and his faithful Minions, as well as some entertaining new additions to the Despicable Me cast.

We got the slightly bizarre teaser over a year ago showing nothing more than the funny yellow aliens that serve Gru (Steve Carell) performing an adorable rendition of The Beach Boys' hit song 'Barbara Ann'; it certainly managed to keep the plot under wraps though it was far from a disappointing introduction into the much anticipated sequel to this Golden Globe nominated flick. Following Gru's evil plot to steal a shrink ray and hijack the moon in the first film, he adopted three young girls named Agnes (Elsie Fisher), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) after taking pity on their misfortune. This time round, it looks like Gru has taken fatherhood in his stride and devious deeds seem to be the last thing he's thinking about, particularly as the eldest girl is getting, well, a little too old for his liking. Just as the prospect of a quiet life looms, however, he is abducted by a feisty agent (Kristen Wiig) from the Anti-Villain League, headed by the pompous Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan) who wish to use him to help save the world from a new evil - and Gru is well up for the challenge!

Continue reading: The Minions Are Back! 'Despicable Me 2' Full Trailer Finally Arrives (Trailer And Pictures)

Despicable Me 2 Trailer

Having hatched an evil plot to steal the moon in the first movie, Gru appears to have let fatherhood take over from his dastardly passions after the adoption of Agnes, Edith and Margo. However, his bad deeds have not been forgotten. As his new daughters get older, he is forced to join Agent Lucy Wilde of the Anti-Villain League in their plot to overthrow a new evil rival with plans way beyond their competency. While his minions attempt to rescue him from this difficult new project, he is ultimately forced to agree to the mission after facing formidable, if ridiculously named, company director Silas Ramsbottom. It's Gru's first time on the side of good - but will he find it a suitable career move from his former immoral ways? Or will this new evil give him plenty of new ideas?

'Despicable Me 2' was the hugely anticipated follow-up to Golden Globe nominated animation 'Despicable Me'. From the producers of 'Ice Age' and 'Shark Tale', it has been directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud ('The Lorax') alongside writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio ('The Santa Clause 2', 'Horton Hears a Who!', 'Hop'). Featuring that smash hit single 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams, the film was released in July 2013.

Watch 3 clips from Despicable Me 2 here!

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Despicable Me 2 Trailer

Following the evil schemes of Gru in 'Despicable Me' involving the hijacking of the moon with his little yellow minions and wicked cohort Dr. Nefario, 'Despicable Me 2' sees their anticipated return in the summer of 2013. Having competed against his rival Vector by going one up from his Egyptian Pyramid theft and successfully stealing the moon, the first film saw Gru adopting three young girls and giving up the stolen rock to rescue them from the ruthless super-villain. Does his success make Gru learn his lesson and become a decent man after his newfound fatherly affection for his girls, or will he and his minions return with an even more abominable plot to become the most notorious super-villain in the world?

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